Notwithstanding a climate of fear and apparent extreme regard for orders from above, Eskom technocrats have found themselves being grilled at the State Capture Commission on whether they did enough to flag or block dodgy instructions from higher-ups like former acting CEO, Matshela Koko, or then CFO, Anoj Singh.

Successive testimony by senior Eskom staff has shown there is a little cover for those who executed questionable instructions from the suits along Mahogany Row - even though this came at a time when fear-induced silence and scandalous suspensions were the order of the day.

At the centre of nearly two weeks of testimony in the Eskom leg of the State Capture inquiry is a series of transactions that effectively helped the Guptas to snatch Optimum Coal Mine (OCM) from commodities giant, Glencore.

They include a R1.6-billion guarantee to facilitate the purchase, an irregular R600-million pre-payment for coal to help the Gupas' Tegeta Exploration cover a shortfall on the purchase price, and a 10-year coal supply contract for the family's Brakfontein coal mine, one that also aided their cash-raising initiative for the controversial acquisition of OCM.

Featuring prominently across all these transactions are the names of those popularly dubbed the Dubai...